For the first time, solar was the largest source of electricity in the EU last month, supplying a record 22 percent of the bloc’s power.
At least 13 countries saw solar output hit a new monthly high in June, according to an analysis from energy think tank Ember. Solar amounted to more than 40 percent of generation in the Netherlands and 35 percent in Greece.
Nuclear was the second biggest source of electricity across the bloc, followed by wind, natural gas, and hydropower. Coal generated just 6 percent of electricity, a new monthly low. Fifteen EU countries are now coal-free, including Austria, Belgium, and Ireland, which shuttered its last coal plant last month.
Analysts say that the June surge in solar power helped Europe weather a brutal heat wave, which saw temperatures soar upwards of 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Solar power was most abundant at midday, when there was the greatest demand for air conditioning, helping to ease strain on the grid and prevent blackouts.
“Heat waves will not go away – they will only get more severe in the future,” said Pawel Czyzak, an analyst at Ember. “Luckily, there is no lack of sunshine during heat waves.”
Last month was the warmest June on record in Europe, and scientists say that climate change played a key role in the heat wave, pushing temperatures to dangerous extremes. An analysis from Imperial College London found that warming was responsible for 1,500 of the estimated 2,300 heat-related deaths across Europe, meaning “the death toll was tripled due to the burning of fossil fuels.”
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